The Legend of Lore
by RiteNameHere
Summary: The Pokemon Battle League Program was built to the find the ideal gym leader, elite four member, or a champion. But what happens to Laert and Lily as they pursue through 5 Tasks that will ensure them their future?
1. Legend

I woke at the sound of six Delibirds flapping their wings. They flew right above my house and whirled in a circle. Trying to stay as quiet as possible, I opened the door and walked outside. My Absol followed me.

"Ab!" It growled at the swirling Delibirds. One left the circle and landed right in front of me. Reaching into its bag, it pulled out a black and white envelope. I grabbed it and they flew away, flapping their tiny wings.

"It's not Christmas yet, right Absol?" I asked. Absol purred. I headed inside and ripped open the letter. I read aloud.

"Dear Mr. Nimbus, we are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted into the Pokemon League Battle Program. This program helps you become a full member of the Pokemon League. You have shown you're interest in becoming a Pokemon Gym Leader. Now is you're time to rise beyond a trainer and into a Leader! Please arrive at this date to your port city, which is Dawnville. Bring no pokemon with you." – Pokemon League

"Wow Absol, this sounds big. But how did they know I wanted to become a gym leader?" I asked. Absol licked its paws.

"Well, I better go tell Mother and Father in the morning. Let's go back to sleep Absol." I said, wiping my eyes. I fell back into a familiar dream of becoming a Pokemon Master, catching all the pokemon in the world.

* * *

><p>"Do you think it was smart to accept a trainer from the Gaen Region? I don't think you can even call it a region." Steven asked. He fumbled through the list of applications and groaned.<p>

"Were supposed to be fair and equal to every trainer, despite their region's standards. Although I do agree with you on how we shall place him." Cynthia wondered. I scribbled another acceptance letter to Brendan Sapire and May Ruby. I placed my pen down and watched as all the champions stared at me.

"Yes?" I asked. The only one wasn't looking was Alder, who was too busy feeding his Volcarona.

"What do you think about this Riley?" Lance asked me. I stared back with uninterested eyes.

"I don't have a strong dislike or the opposite for this Gaen trainer. We shall just have to see on the battlefield." I said. Suddenly, the bell rang and everyone filed out to the lunch room. Everyone except for me, Alder, and Steven.

"Congratulations by the way. I never got to tell you that ever since the meeting." Steven said. I nodded.

"Thank you." I slipped my papers under my arm and left, ignoring the malicious glint in his sky-blue eyes.

* * *

><p>"Mom, you don't have to buy me all this. I'm sure they'll provide them for me." I groaned as my mother bought 30 more Max Potions. She handed them to me.<p>

"Don't be silly Laert. I'm so proud of you for being accepted. Only 40 are accepted each year and my little baby is one of them. I remember when you used to throw Voltorbs to catch pokemon." She started tearing up.

"Mommmm." I groaned. We walked to Dawnville's port where a large, white ship was waiting for us. My mother took both my hands.

"Now listen Laert, make sure you send letters to me once in a while." She said. I rolled my eyes and promised. I handed her Absol's pokeball as I knelt down to it.

"Sorry girl, but you're going to have to stay behind. I'm not allowed to bring any pokemon with me." Absol growled and started yapping. I patted its head and boarded the ship.

"Laert! Good luck!" My mother yelled. I waved back and pulled my cap down. The ship let out a massive roar and departed its port. I watched as my Absol tried to follow me, but couldn't go the boardwalk.

"Take care Absol!" I shouted. It howled and I thought I saw a tear in its red eyes.

* * *

><p>"Who does he think he is? Just because he got the new title of "Pokemon League Master Director" he thinks he's the best? He lost his mind." I growled as I tossed a small sculpture of a Metagross across my desk. I closed my eyes and remembered that faint hint of pride that he gave me.<p>

"Are you alright Steven?" Drake asked from across the table. I slammed my fist down and grabbed Drake's shirt.

"You know what this means right? I can't have him or the other champions on my tail all the time. You cover for me Drake, got it?" He shook his red face up and down. I sneered.

"Good, and let no else hear of this. Especially the Gaen. I'll need him. Now go." I ordered. Drake shuffled out as Emmet walked in.

"Hello Steven, quite a loud conversation you were having." He took his cap off. I rolled my eyes.

"I've had a bad morning." I replied. He merely smiled and held up a sheet of paper.

"Riley put the schedule up. He also made the six instructors for each week official Elite officers. The officers get special privileges and are allowed to punish or reward any trainer. The five officers are you, me, Ingo, Alder, Lance, and Cynthia. Thought it was kinda unfair to pick only the champions of each region, minus me and my brother. But he thought you guys would execute the tasks the best." Emmet said. I nodded, bored by his words.

"Alright then, I get the Dynamic Task right?" I asked.

"Yup, he'll explain it at induction tonight." He bowed and closed the door. I picked up my sculpture and put it in my pocket. I smoothed out my grey hair and fixed my tie.

_Stay calm, everything will go fine_

* * *

><p>"Welcome! We have chosen you, the top 40 of the all the Pokemon Regions, to compete in a mass Pokemon League Battle Program. This program was designed to find ideal trainers that have the potential to become gym leaders, Elite Four, or even a Champion of a designated region. Each week, you shall receive a task and challenge that must be completed in order to move onto the next week. I promise you this, every week, there shall be cuts, meaning many of you will be leaving. We will only be looking at the top 10 to see if they have the potential.<p>

Now for the tasks, I shall not explain them for many of you shall not reach them. The tasks are the Disadvantage Task, Egg Task, Dynamic Task, Tag Team Task, and the Bravado Task. Completion of all these tasks will definitely help us decide who shall lead the Pokemon League. The rules of these tasks are in your guidelines which I hope you all took the time to read.

Finally, my last thing to say is that every week, there shall be a random challenge. Two trainers will automatically be chosen before the Task day and will compete to secure themselves a spot in the next week. However, the loser shall be automatically sent home. Mind you, they are random, so don't think that just because you are picked you-" He was cut off by a boy who shouted, "How are we supposed to battle them if we aren't allowed to bring pokemon?"

"Throughout this program you shall receive new pokemon, and you shall fight with those." Riley said bluntly. A wave of murmurs and whispering filled the large dome.

"Excuse me! As I was saying, each week you shall receive a new pokemon. Only twice will you have a choice in what pokemon to get. Now then, I hope you all have a fine night because the first task starts tomorrow!" He pressed a button and a screen came down with a huge sign that said "PBLP. Find your destiny!" Then the curtains fell down and a band started playing. The chairs automatically folded themselves and slid into the ground. Everyone started dancing and visiting the drink and food bar. It was a modern day pokemon-prom.

"Hello?" A voice asked behind me. I turned around and saw a small girl with a white dress.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone I knew." She said, blushing. My face suddenly turned red.

"So, yeah, hi!" I said. She smiled and her perfect white teeth shined.

"Do you want to dance?" She asked. I glanced at the band, which was playing "I _Absol_utely love you."

"Sure." She grabbed my hand and we started dancing.

"So tell me about yourself." She asked. I tried to shout over the music.

"My name is Laert Nimbus. I'm fifteen and I'm from the Gaen Region, which is off the coast of Unova. I only have one pokemon, my Absol, and I want to be a Gym Leader. How about yourself?" I said.

"I'm Lily Valens. I'm from Hoenn. And I have six pokemon, but I had to leave them behind. My favorite is my Bree, who is a Breloom. I want to become a famous pokemon breeder. But I always wanted to a gym leader, especially since Winona is my sister." She said. After we danced a couple of songs, we went to the drink bar and ordered two MooMooMilks.

"A toast! To the future of the Pokemon League!" Lily shouted. Our glasses met and we drank to the night.

* * *

><p>"You ready for tomorrow?" I asked. Lance tapped his computer once more and closed it. He turned to me.<p>

"Everything's stocked and ready. And I even included some shiny's." He grinned. I tipped my hat down and opened the door.

"Don't worry Riley; they are going to have an interesting challenge." Lance said.

* * *

><p>I met Lily near the breakfast line and grabbed a bagel. She looked tired, but still had a happy face on.<p>

"I'm so nervous for today. I don't know what's going to happen!" She said. When we heard a bell, we all walked out outside, where we were told to wait. A wave of chattering crashed over us.

"Do you know what the first task is?"

"No clue. Better be easy, since it's our first week and all."

"I hope we get to keep our new pokemon."

"Doubt it, hey May, can I borrow some sunscreen?"

We waited for a minute…two minutes…five minutes. The sun was pounding down on us and many were fanning themselves. After what seemed to be eternity, a Dragonite fell from the sky and landed in front of us. Lance climbed off the back of the dragon-type and grinned.

"Welcome to your first task! Of course, how can you complete a task in the Pokemon Battle Program without any pokemon? So before every task, you will have a chance to obtain a pokemon. For today, all of you shall roam through the ForeFear Forest and catch a pokemon. However, instead of wearing it down, you shall just throw this ball, the Champion Ball, and will automatically catch the pokemon you choose. Be careful, unlike the Master Ball, you cannot release the pokemon in the Champion ball, so make sure you get a pokemon you really want. Just a little fact, every pokemon is at their final evolution and there are a couple of shiny pokemon. Catching these shiny pokemon will result in not being selected for the random match up. So everyone get ready and get your Champion Ball!" Lance handed out one Champion Ball to everyone and pulled out a whistle.

"Ready…set…go!" Forty trainers piled into ForeFear Forest, in search of a pokemon.

* * *

><p><em>Should I get a shiny pokemon? What if their really not that great? Like a Zangoose<em>

Nothing against Zangooses, but evolutionary pokemon amazes me the most_. _I tore through the bushes and shrubs until I saw a Nidoqueen sleeping. I was about to throw my Ball, until one went flying past me and captured the Poison-ground type.

"Hey! I was going to catch that!" I yelled as the trainer, a boy named Drew. He smirked.

"Well if you want to catch a pokemon, you better not be that slow Lily." He walked away. I was burning with rage. I kept walking until I spotted a beautiful Luxray. I threw my Champion Ball as hard as I could, but it quickly dodged it.

"Almost had it!" I yelled. I picked it back up and tried again and again.

_Come on!_

* * *

><p>I glanced at my poketech, which was like an Ipod, but for your wrist. Lance gave us a time limit of one hour, but I couldn't find any pokemon I liked. I went past a Raichu, Excadrill, Primape, Octillary, and even a shiny Raticate. But I think that was a joke since nobody would use a Raticate. Oh sorry, nobody that wants to be laughed at uses a Raticate. I found a mountain and started climbing, hoping to find a better view of the forest. I climbed and climbed until I entered a small dugout, like a cave. I took a break and sat down near the rocks.<p>

_What type should I get? Fighting has the most advantages, grass has the most disadvantages, but dragon is tough against anything._

I wonder what my Absol would say if I got a dragon-type. I chuckled lightly, until I heard a soft growl. I looked farther into the cave to see two pairs of eyes watching me.

_It's probably a Zubat…don't worry…but Zubats don't have eyes…_

The pokemon stepped out into the light and I saw an Umbreon, spotted with dark blue rings, instead of yellow.

_It's a shiny!_

I got my Champion Ball ready and was about to throw it, when it released a loud roar. I was paralyzed and dropped my Ball. The Umbreon leaped and snatched my Ball in its mouth and looked at me with its pure eyes, as if it was analyzing me. I was scared that it would break the Ball, or attack, or both. I closed my eyes and hoped for the worst. A breeze whipped my face as I heard the Umbreon move.


	2. Initiation

Here's an admission form if you would like to have a character featured in our Pokemon League Battle Program! This character may be featured in one of the weekly Tasks, Random Matchups, or even feature as a famous sponsor. I'll try to include the character as best as I can.

Here's an example:

Name: Laert Nimbus

Age: 15

Region: Gaen

Clothes: Red and sliver shirt with a picture of scarlet fire. Dark blue jeans, dark grey jacket.

Lead Pokemon: Absol (Ab)

Special Moves/Egg Moves: Absol knows Wild Bolt and Leaf Blade

Personality: Shy, Determined, and kind. Knows how to treat pokemon

Unique Fact: Lives in the Gaen region, which is off the coast of Unova and is not developed.


	3. Eyes

"Twelve minutes left." Lance said. I bit my lip as I glanced at the crowd. All the other trainers, that already caught their pokemon, were ether resting or playing with their new friends. I didn't see Laert anywhere.

"Mr. Lance, what happens to a trainer if he doesn't return within the time limit?" I asked. Lance chuckled.

"Don't expect them to last long in this program." He replied. I wanted to take out my new Luxray, who I named Flux, and get to know him, but I was worried sick about Laert.

_Hurry up Laert!_

* * *

><p>I didn't open my eyes until everything was silent. Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw nothing but my Champion Ball on the floor. I picked it up and squinted deep into the cave, wondering if the Umbreon had retreated.<p>

_Great, now I'm pokemonless…and it was a shiny too!_

I slumped down until I glanced at my poketech. My brain almost exploded when I found out how much time had gone by. I ran as fast as I could back to Lance. I was just about out of ForeFear Forest when a boy with a black-hooded sweatshirt bumped into me.

"Ow!" I winced as I felt a sharp pain in my knee. The boy grabbed my arm and slung it over his shoulder.

"Come on, we got to hurry." He ran like a devil as Lance called "Time."

"Were here!" I yelled. Lance nodded.

"Good. Now then, everyone's back." He turned to the crowd.

"For the next four days, you can explore the island and get to know your newly aquatinted partner. Then, on Saturday, everyone will gather to participate in our first Pokemon League match up. Then after that, I will inform you about your Task. Until then, please enjoy!" He jumped onto his Dragonite and flew off before I could tell him I didn't have a pokemon. The black-hooded boy dropped me off on a bench.

"Want me to call Nurse Joy?" He asked. I shook my head.

"It's ok. Thanks for carrying me by the way. You're very fast." I remarked. His sliver eyes locked onto mine.

"See ya around." He walked off as Lily ran up to me.

"Laert! You have to meet my new pokemon!" Lily exclaimed as she threw her Champion Ball in the air. It released a Luxray.

"Wow! A Luxray. Those are common in Sinnoh right?" I asked. She nodded as she stroked the electric-lion's mane.

"My sister told me that a Luxray once beat her entire team. I wanted to get one. I named it Flux." She boasted. I rubbed underneath its chin as it purred.

"What about you? Let me see you're pokemon!" Lily yelled.

"I-I didn't catch one. I was about to catch this Umbreon, but it got away." I admitted. I was close to tears.

"It's ok…" She patted my back. Suddenly, I didn't feel sadness or pity. I was angry; engulfed in rage. I threw my Champion ball across the field as it hit a tree. I looked down and started crying.

"Laert? What's that?" Lily whispered. I looked up to see the Umbreon, its blue rings shining dimly in the light.

"I thought you said it got away." Lily said. I ignored her as I walked over and looked down at the Umbreon. It looked back with its golden eyes.

"Give it a name." Lily hissed. I knelt down and placed a palm on its forehead. It closed its eyes and purred.

"Umbra." I said. The edges of its mouth lifted as if it was smiling.

"Alright Umbra, let's go train!" It leaped onto my shoulder and we raced down to the beach.

"Laert wait!" Lily shouted as she ran behind me.

* * *

><p>"How did it go?" I asked Lance. He shrugged as the rest of the officers stared at him.<p>

"Good, I guess. I mean, nothing _too_ interesting happened." Lance said. We were silent until Alder released a hearty laugh.

"Well that's good! Looks like everything is going as planned." He said as the others nodded. Steven leaned on his chair and asked, "How many shinnies were there and how many were caught?"

"There were a total of four shinnies out of about one thousand pokemon. Only two were caught; an Umbreon and a Raticate." Lance said. Emmet let out a snicker.

"Someone was that desperate to not participate in the match up?" He said. His brother let out a sigh and told Emmet to shut up. He did and Lance finished his report.

"Alright then; everything is going by smoothly. Our next meeting is on Sunday. Hope to see you all there." I got up and we all filed out.

"Riley!" Steven shouted. I stopped and turned.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if I could borrow the computer room tonight. To prepare for my Task." He asked nonchalantly. I frowned.

"Your Task is not until the third week Steven." I said. He grinned.

"That is why I should be practicing. Practice makes perfect Riley." He said. I scowled.

"Fine, but don't touch anything." I walked off; knowing the cold look in his eyes and his aura was up to no good.

* * *

><p>*Next chapter- Chapter 3, Faithless, Laert and Lily both witness their first Pokemon League match up. Who will ensure a spot to the next Task, and who will go home before his first one?<p>

Expected update: the 10th or the 24th


	4. Faithless

*I forgot to add last chapter that Anthony Christian has won a 4 chapter arc for his character

*RushedFast and Pokestets23 has also won 2 chapter arcs for their character

* * *

><p>The next three days were nothing but training. I took my Umbreon everyday down to the beach and practiced its moves. So far, it knew Shadow Ball, Pursuit, Roar, and Bounce. Lily often came with us and worked with her Luxray.<p>

"One more time Umbra, use Pursuit!" I yelled. Umbra prepared to disappear and slam into the rocks we were practicing with, until she accidentally hit Flux.

"Hey!" Lily shouted. I muttered an apology as her face brightened up.

"I got it! Why don't we have a battle? That way we can both train and prepare for the Task." Lily said. I grinned and said, "Don't expect me to go easy Lily."

"Good, then I won't feel bad when I beat you." We both took our place and waited…and waited…

"Flux, use Electro Ball!" Her Luxray swirled on her side and threw a ball of electricity at Umbra.

"Umbra! Dodge!" Umbra swiftly avoided the attack and braced itself.

"Use Pursuit!" I yelled. I grinned as the dark-type landed a direct hit.

"Lucky shot Laert. Flux, use Thunder!" My eyes widened as a massive bolt of electricity hit my Umbreon. It fell down and struggled to get up.

"Come on Umbra!" I grimaced. My face brightened as it stood tall and proud, only to cringe as a wave of electricity passed over its body.

"Yes, now it's paralyzed. Flux, lets end this with an Electro Ball!" I bit my lip knowing that Electro Ball's power would double now that Umbra's speed was cut in half.

"Counter it with Shadow Ball!" Both pokemon produced spheres of energy and tossed them at each other. They impacted in midair and left a flash of bright light in my eyes.

"Look's like it's almost over Laert." Lily smiled. I looked at my Umbreon's poor state.

"It's not over till its over. Umbra, use—"I was cut off by a screaming voice. I looked around and saw a boy running towards us.

"You have to come! He's here!" He ran off back to the Dome. Lily and I looked at each other.

"Let's go." We ran as fast as we could.

* * *

><p>"I know this may come as a surprise, but throughout this program, famous sponsors may come and help you with your Tasks. Before your match up tomorrow, we asked five famous people from the five regions to come and talk to you guys. Please help me introduce Brock, the rock-type gym leader from Kanto, Tracy, Professor Oak's assistant, Noland, a Battle Frontier Brain, Zoey, a famous pokemon coordinator, and Grises Hawforth, a Unovian sponsor. Please ask them all the questions you want. They shall be here until the first Task. However, you cannont talk to any sponsor that is not in your region. So a trainer from Kanto cannot confer with Zoey or Tracy and will only be allowed to talk to Brock. So please, enjoy the rest of your day!" Riley announced. Everyone was in awe of the five people on stage. Some were even drooling.<p>

_I've never heard of Grises Hawforth. Wonder who he is…_

As everyone crowded around their sponsor, I rushed over to Riley and asked, "What region should I join?"

He stared at me skeptically.

"Hmmm…." He trailed off. I was trying to send brain waves like Alakazam to say "_Hoenn, Hoenn, Hoenn, Hoenn"_

"How about Unova?" He smiled and patted my hair. I stared dumdfoundly and cursed at all Alakazams. I slumped over to the Unovian crowd and listened to Grises talk about his journey.

"Now then, I understand you are all probably going to be battling and making hard decisions. The only advice I can give you, is to build strong communications with you're pokemon. Without them, you aren't a trainer, and without you, they aren't pokemon. Remember that." He winked at our group. Many of them seemed confused by his words.

"How old were you when you started you're journey?" Someone asked. We all looked at him as he laughed.

"Around 14. I admit that is older for an average trainer, however, my dad owned a Milktank farm and needed me to help out." He smiled. We asked question after question, asking for tips on battling, attacks, abilities, and items. However, he just nodded and answered each question with a question of his own. By the time we left for dinner, we were all confused and frustrated that our sponsor wasn't as good as the others.

"How come we get a crappy sponsor while Sinnoh gets Zoey? She's amazing, she beat Dawn with a Glameow! That takes some serious skill." A Unovian said as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"Maybe next week, we'll get an amazing sponsor and the rest of the regions will get lame sponsors?" I said. Everyone agreed with that idea, except for the trainer.

"Unless we all fail the Task tomorrow, then we won't be there for another sponsor." He said. All of sudden, I realized what he was saying. Riley didn't tell us how many people were being cut, but just that there was going to be cuts. It may just be that he cuts an entire region.

"It would really suck if the sponsors were the key to winning the Task tomorrow. My only hope is if I win the matchup." Everyone frowned and lost their appetite. Despite not being in their region, I felt their anxiety. We finished our dinner and all headed back to the Dome, which turned into a full battle stadium. Riley was in the center with a microphone.

"Welcome to your first Pokemon Random Match up! We will pick two trainers at random and they shall battle it out to secure themselves a spot in the next week. The trainer that losses will leave the program before their first Task. There are only two trainers that cannot be chosen tonight and those people are Jason Marx from Johto and Laert Runis from Gaen. Let's begin!" He launched a pokeball in the air and his Lucario came out. It used Aura Sphere on a huge button that revealed a huge screen. 40 faces scrolled down until the first one stopped to a person named Jay Evans from Hoenn. The other stopped at a Unovian named Blake Hale. I recognized him as the one who helped me in ForeFear Forest. Both of them stood up and walked down to the battlefield.

"Begin!" Riley shouted. Jay revealed a small Linoone while Blake sent out a Braviary.

"Bravo, use Air Slash!" The bird-pokemon threw a swirling sphere of air at the normal-type.

"Linoone, dodge, then use Ice Beam!" Blake's eyes narrowed with fear.

"Dodge it!" He yelled. His Braviary flew up in the air, but the slim line of ice hit it directly.

"Brav!" It yelped. Jay grinned and yelled, "Use Slash!" His Linoone, like a speeding bullet, jumped and slashed at the bird. It grimaced, but slapped it away with it's wing.

"Bravo, Brave Bird!" His Braviary burst in blue energy and tackled the Linoone to the floor. It backed up, but cringed as it took the recoil damage.

"Linnone, hit it with another Ice Beam!" Jay yelled with a smile. His Linoone opened its mouth to prepare another attack.

"Stop it! Giga Impact!" Blake shouted. I glanced at his Braviary, which was a swirling funnel of power, and saw it slam the Linoone down once again. When the dust cleared, Jay's Linoone had fainted and Jay's face was filled with sadness.

"Congradulations! Blake Hale has won the first Pokemon League Match up. He has secured himself a spot in the second week of this program. Congradulations Blake!" We all cheered for him, but some of Jay's Hoenn friends didn't. I thought I saw a tear form in Lily's eye.

"Everyone have a good night!" Riley shouted. We all went back to our rooms.

_I can't believe it; I would hate to be in Jay's shoes…_

I remembered Jay's face as he progressed through the battle. His voice was more confident, his face brighter, but his tactics had holes. Instead of using Ice Beam again, he could have buffed his defenses or speed with a status-affecting move while Blake's Braviary was affected by its recoil. I left my room and headed to the Hoenn wing, where a large group was outside Jay's door. I went over to Lily and hugged her. Her tears drenched my shirt.

"I can't believe. Jay was my childhood friend. He and I went to school together. It's just not fair!" She sobbed. I tried to comfort her until Jay walked out of his room. His suitcase was packed and his Champion Ball was in his hand. Despite his loss, he still had a smile on his face.

"Hey guys…guess I'm leaving." He hugged everyone and shook my hand.

"You're a really good trainer, I wish we could've battled." I said. He cracked a grin.

"Visit me in Hoenn sometime, we can battle there." We all went to the docks to wish him goodbye. Riley was waiting there with Lance. He held out his hand and Jay placed his Champion Ball in it.

"Although you haven't stayed here very long, we hope that you had an excellent time." Riley smiled. Jay returned the smile and gave his suitcase to Lance. He turned to us and said, "Good luck to all of you! Although I lost, I'm still going to be the best trainer in the world! So watch out!" Everyone cheered and he shook hands with Riley. Riley then handed the Champion Ball back to Jay's startled hands.

"You can keep you're pokemon. It seems it has grown quite an attachement to you. We hope that you still train hard, Mr. Evans." Jay nodded annd boarded the ship. It let a huge steam of smoke and drifted off into the sunset. Jay waved once more, then headed inside.

Everyone went back to their rooms in packs, talking about Jay or about the Task tomorrow. I tried to catch Blake's eye, but he ignored me and went to his room.

"I-I hope I never be in a match-up." Lily whispered. I grabbed her hands.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure that doesn't happen." She leaned forward and kissed my lips. Despite everything, it was probably the best night of my life.

* * *

><p>*Hope you liked it, it was kinda emotional (Not really). Jay was really fun to write about, as well as Blake.<p>

*Next Chapter – Brave, Laert and Lily face their first Task, the Disadvantage Task. What will happen as the possiblity of getting cut surrounds Laert's mind.

*Special shoutout to Anthony Christian for Blake's character, RushedFast for Jay's character and Pokestets23 character, which will appear in future chapters

*Expected update for Brave- 3/25 or 4/1


	5. Brave

Hey guys, so I had a lot of down time during my vacation and decided to get started on Brave. But I couldn't stop writing it and decided to update it early. I'm still on vacation, so I'm not sure about the next chapter, but I guess anything could happen. Enjoy!

* * *

><p><em>My eyes snapped open as I heard a rustling noise. Quickly scanning the room, I noticed I was alone. I leaped from the bed and opened the door. I spotted a dark figure turning around the corner and followed. I saw the figure open the door and walk slowly down to the beach.<em>

* * *

><p>I rubbed my face and for a moment, I was afraid. I was afraid of being sent home and going back to my mom as a failure. I was afraid of looking at Riley after sending Jay home. What if I was being sent home packing tomorrow and having Umbra's ball given to me as a consolation prize; as a reminder that I failed?<p>

I shook my head and looked to the sunrise for guidance. It must've been four o'clock in the morning.

"Eon?" a voice purred. I turned and saw my Umbreon right by my feet.

"Hey Umbra. Couldn't sleep like me?" I asked. Its eyebrows narrowed as if it was accusing me of ruining its sleep.

"Sorry girl. I'm just stressed." I said. I sat down on a log and put my head down.

_What would my mom do if I showed up at her doorstep? What would my dad do?_

"AHHHH!" I yelled in frustration. My Umbreon jumped and snarled in annoyance. It leaped and scratched my nose.

"Ow!" I groaned as I rubbed the newly-made dents.

"Quite an interesting pair you two are." A deep voice chuckled. I looked up and saw Grises Hawforth with a powerful-looking Emboar next to him.

"Hello Mr. Hawforth." I greeted. He bowed and patted Umbra's back.

"I'm guessing that you are anxious for the Task tomorrow?" He said. I nodded.

"I'm more nervous of going home as a failure." I confessed. He sat down next to me and looked to the rising sun.

"To be honest, when I started my journey, I was a train wreck. After receiving my Tepig, I was always afraid it was going to get lost or I would lose and have to return back home. But I kept going and eventually beat the Elite Four. Although I did lose to Clay a few times, I never gave up and I never looked back." His Emboar let out a steam of smoke from its nostrils and stomped its feet.

"What I'm trying to say is, stop worrying about failing and going home as a failure. If you look at the future and the possibilities, it is more likely that they will happen." He said. I looked straight into his warm, hazel eyes. They reminded me of Lily.

"To be honest, I had my eyes on you the moment I saw you. You come from the Gaen region right?" He asked. I nodded. He got up and held out his hand.

"I'm going to help you with something. I think I owe it to my brother." I grabbed his hand and got to my feet.

"Were going to have a battle between my Emboar and your Umbreon. This will help you with your Task tomorrow." His Emboar smacked its chest a few times and roared. My Umbreon glared and braced itself.

"You can have the first move." Grises gestured.

"Alright, Umbreon use Bounce!" Umbra leaped into the air and spun midair.

"Emboar, Heat Crash!" His Emboar turned into a ball of mystic fire and jumped higher than my Umbreon. They both collided in the air and swirl of sand and dust blurred our vision. When the sand cleared, both our pokemon were standing firm, but his Emboar had a current of electricity running across its body.

"Umbra, quick it's paralyzed. Use Shadow Ball!" My Umbreon opened its mouth and tossed a ball of dark energy at the fire/fighting-type.

"Emboar, Arm Thrust." Grises commanded. His Emboar pulled its arm back and shot it forward to block Umbra's attack. I bit my lip.

"If you can't find a way to break through an opponent's defenses, then you'll never be able to complete the Task tomorrow." He said. My eyes lit up.

"Umbra! Use Pursuit!" I yelled. Umbra dash forward and disappeared, slamming into the Emboar from behind.

"Keep using Pursuit!" Slam after slam, his Emboar was helpless to defend against the attacks. I looked at Grises to see that he had a smile on his face.

"Good, step one is complete. Now let's see if you can use your opponent's attacks against them." My brow wrinkled as I wondered what he meant.

"Emboar, Flamethrower!" He shouted. His Emboar shot a jet of fire at my Umbreon and it fell back.

"Keep it up!" Grises yelled.

"Dodge it!" I shouted. Umbra leaped, but was still hit by the blazing fire.

"Better find out quick Laert. The first step was to attack the opponent; this step is to counter it." Grises said. I watched as my Umbreon almost fainted from the heat.

"Umbra! Use Pursuit!" It got up and dashed into a dark bullet. As it crashed into the flames, it let out a roar of pain.

_Come on…come on!_

* * *

><p><em>The moment I heard Laert yell "Pursuit" the only thing I wanted to pursuit after was his mouth. I managed to endure the flames, but my legs felt like fried chicken. I tried to send a mental message to Emboar.<em>

"_Hey Pork chops, could you turn the flames down a little?" I growled. His Emboar grunted._

"_Don't look at me; I don't control my flame temperature. He does." He jerked his head to the older man. I cursed as my attack was fading. I could already see the black and purple waves dissolve. _

"_Ugh, why can't Laert and I switch places sometime? I would love to see him dash into his scorching death." I mumbled. _

"_You'll learn to trust your trainer, as I did with mine." Emboar boasted._

"_Glad to hear it Barbeque." I snarled. _

"_If you want a tip, try fusing the flames with your body." Emboar suggested. _

"_What in Arceus does that mean?" I asked. The only thing I could fuse with my body right now was the dirt. _

"_Try." He insisted. I groaned and weaved the flames around my body. I felt stronger and faster as I pushed through the flames, resisting its burning sensation. _

"Umbra? What is that move?" _Laert yelled._

"That is Flame Charge." _The older man smiled. Laert jumped up and down._

"Umbra use Flame Charge!" _I burst forward and slammed into Emboar. It stumbled, but regained its balance. _

"_Nice work." He complemented. _

"_Thanks Bacon Strip, now lets fight." I zipped from side to side as Laert commanded me to bounce again. I jumped into the air as Emboar jumped into his Heat Crash. He charged at me, but I was faster from the Flame Charge's speed boost and his paralysis. I pushed higher into the air and dodged the attack, only to bring down my own. As Emboar was falling at a fast speed, I thought I saw it wink before it crashed and fainted. _

* * *

><p>"So tell me about your family." Grises said as he handed me a rice snack. I accepted it and chewed.<p>

"My mother takes care of the Gaen daycare, while my father is doing some trading with Nimbasa. He's really famous and knows almost everyone." I said.

"I don't think I ever heard about him before." Grises said. I remained silent as I finished my food and patted Umbra's back.

"Well, something about me is that my little brother lives in the Gaen Region. You remind me of him. He should be about 15 now." Grises told me. I stared out into the sun's rays.

"Don't worry; I'll be watching you during your Task. Just remember what I taught you." He got up and walked away with his Emboar. I returned my Umbreon back into its ball and raced to the Dome, where I saw Lily.

"Where were you?" She whispered. I mumbled a quick "somewhere" as Riley entered the stage. He snapped his fingers and the stage disappeared into several battle stadiums.

"Welcome to your first Task. This Task requires you to complete a two-set battle. One set will be facing a Dragon-type from our own officer, Lance. After you have managed to beat him, you will face a stimulation that owns a very strong pokemon. This pokemon was designed to have an advantage over yours. Completion of these battles will result in your stay. If you manage to win one battle, but not the other, then you will be put on an evaluation, where the officers will watch your battle over again to see if you have potential. If all of you fail, then a ranking system will take play." Riley paused to take a breath. I noticed everyone was about nervous as I was before.

"I also failed to mention that there will be a prize for the trainer with the highest marks. Now, without further ado, good luck on your Task!" Riley left the stage. Lance appeared from the sky and directed us to specific battle stadiums. I officially joined the Unovians and waited.

* * *

><p>"Hello Ms. Valens." Lance greeted. I curtsied and got Flux's ball ready. Lance tossed a pokeball high in the air to reveal an Altaria.<p>

"Get ready." Lance said. Suddenly, a buzzer rang and his Altaria was already zipping in a circle.

"Use Dragon Pulse!" Lance commanded. A ball of pure energy hit my Flux as it roared.

"Flux, Thunder!" I yelled. Flux regained its balance and shot a large bolt of electricity at the flying/dragon-type.

"Dodge, then Sky Attack." My eyes widened as the attack missed. I cursed as his Altaria was starting to glow with a harsh light.

"Flux, use Electro Ball!" I didn't think it was faster, but I needed to land a paralysis on it. Flux spun on its belly and launched the sphere. It missed by two inches as his Altaria dove down.

"Flux dodge!" I screamed. The impact left a flurry of debris buffing my vision. When it cleared, I saw my Flux still standing, but limping.

"It seems this is almost over. Altaria, finish it with Giga Impact!" Lance yelled. I tried to analyze the attack.

_Ok think. Giga Impact is a super-strong attack, but the pokemon can't move the next round. Judging on Jay and Blake's battle, you can't really dodge it. But…_

I almost face palmed myself for being so stupid.

"Flux, use Double Team!" I shouted. Flux made copies of itself and even I couldn't tell which one was the real one. Altaria hit a fake and fell back.

"Flux, Thunder!" I screamed. The real Luxray generated a bolt of electricity and aimed it at Altaria, this time a direct hit. The Altaria fell from the sky and fainted.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" I chanted. I hugged my Luxray so tightly, it fainted.

"Now, now, let's get your pokemon healed up." Lance smiled. He led me to the instant healer and told me I could take a break. I sat down and wiped the beads of sweat running down my face. I only hoped that Laert passed his first battle.

* * *

><p>"Shadow Ball!" I glared at Lance. He has sent out a Flygon, meaning my newly-discovered move would be useless.<p>

"Knock it away with Sliver Wind!" Lance yelled. His Flygon whipped up a series of bright winds and the dark sphere crashed to the side.

"Pursuit!" I yelled. Umbra disappeared and I knew it was going to hit the Flygon from the back.

"Protect." I gritted my teeth as the dragon/ground-type protected itself with a barrier of blue light.

"Come on Umbra, use Bounce!" Umbra leaped up and rotated into a ball of wind. It slammed down onto the Flygon and paralyzed it.

"Flame Charge!" Umbra crashed into the fallen Flygon in a flaming coat.

"Congratulations. You may continue to the healing chamber and wait there." Lance said. I nodded and healed Umbra.

_Were almost done Umbra…almost done_

* * *

><p>"Everyone's doing extremely well. How many didn't pass the first round Lance?" I asked him. He turned to the other officers and announced, "Seven so far."<p>

Cynthia, Alder, Emmet, Ingo, and I all nodded while Steven frowned.

"When I counted, it was eight." He said. Lance tapped on his computer and sighed.

"You're right; I didn't count the last one. Dang, I thought she had some skill, that May." Lance said. The room turned suddenly awkward.

"Well," Alder broke the mold, "guess we better watch the second battle." He left the room while the other officers followed his lead.

"Steven." I said sharply. He stopped and gave me an innocent smile.

"Yes?" I glared into his steely eyes, then turned away.

"Never mind. Just go." I ordered. I thought I heard him salute before he sauntered off.

_He's up to something. I know it…_

* * *

><p><em>No way, no how was I going up against a Heracross. I saw Laert's hands shake with anxiety as he knew that it was 4x effective against a dark-type like me. <em>

"Use Megahorn." _The computer trainer said. The Heracross's horn glowed with a bright light and it flew right at me. _

"Flame Charge!" _Laert yelled. _

"_Move it bub." I growled. We both slammed into each other, but I felt like a drill had gone into my stomach. I felt faster though; what a great consolation prize. _

"Close Combat." The trainer said. _The Heracross appeared right in front of me and launched a series of punches and kicks. I tried to dodge them as best as I could, even if I looked like a complete idiot._

"_Hey Crossy, can you like stop?" I asked. It ignored me and continued its attack. _

"_Alright then, take this." I tossed a Shadow Ball right into its privates and it cried._

"Umbra! Nice shot!" _Laert smiled. The Heracross kept dancing and flailing around as I laughed._

"_No fair! Your trainer is supposed to give you orders!" The Heracross whined. I raised an eyebrow._

"_So you can talk?" I asked. His nose blared and I thought steam was going to come out of it._

"_Of course I can talk; doesn't mean I want to. Now let's fight!" The Heracross flew high in the air and tossed a large orb of powerful energy. _

"Focus Blast." _His trainer said. _

"Flame Charge!" _Laert countered. I dashed forward and felt the familiar feeling of warm flame dancing around my body. _

"_Catch me if you can sucker." I dodged blast after blast and even had a chance to give a rude pokemon gesture. It pounded the ground in frustration as I kept circling it in flames._

"_Come on! I can't freaking hit you!" Heracross screamed. I stuck out my tongue. _

"Seems your Heracross is a bit mad my Umbreon is out speeding it." _Laert pointed out the obvious. _

"Good, use Frustration." _Laert and I both cursed as Heracross burst into a coat of red light. It rammed into me and kicked me while I was on the ground._

"_Stop it!" I shouted. Its angry aura flickered and I felt its rage. _

"Umbra! Bounce!" _I leaped up and slammed down onto the Heracross. I figured its 4x weakness to flying would destroy it, but it held its ground. _

"_I used Endure before you hit me. Now my Swarm ability activates." His Heracross laughed. I rolled my eyes and dashed forward to use Pursuit. Before I disappeared, it launched a colorful beam of light and I felt dizzy as I got up._

"Umbra! You have to recover from the Signal Beam!" _Laert shouted. Even with my brain feeling like mush, I managed to leap forward and slam into the Heracross. _

"_This battle is over. See you later Sucker." Heracross snickered. My head suddenly cleared as I saw that the Heracross was preparing its Focus Blast. I darted forward and felt my left paw turn into a purple orb. I slashed at the Heracross and it fainted. _

"Umbra…when did you learn Sucker Punch?" _Laert said with awe. I walked next to the fallen Heracross and brushed its side with my tail._

"_This one here gave me the inspiration." Laert grasped me in a hug._

"_We did it! We did it!" He yelled in joy._

* * *

><p>"No way…" I yelled in frustration. A few feet away, I was facing my opponent, a bulky Rhydon with the ability Lightingrod.<p>

"Seriously?" I barked at the stimulation trainer, which was giving me odd looks.

"Rhydon, use Earthquake." It said in a monotoned voice.

"Flux! Jump and use Double Team!" I was nervous that I was going to lose; knowing that Crunch and Double Team were the only two moves that weren't electric.

"Hammer Arm." The trainer ordered. The Rhydon leaped up and pummeled my Luxray to the ground. It groaned and struggled to stand up.

"Flux, use Crunch!" It dashed forward and bit the Rhydon, only to cringe as its rock skin protected it.

"Finish it with Rock Wrecker." The boy said. The Rhydon gathered a huge rock of pulsing light and slammed it down upon my poor Luxray. It fainted and my legs gave out.

"I'm sorry, but it seems we have won. Please go to the healing chamber and wait until everyone has completed the Task." The stimulation said. It disappeared and I gathered my fallen pokemon.

_I lost…_

* * *

><p>"After much consideration, here are the trainers that will continue with the Battle League Program!" Riley shouted. I waited in anticipation as I waited for the pictures to come up. Faster than an Acceglor, the pictures appeared and ended with Lily's face. She burst into tears and I tried to comfort her.<p>

"I can't believe I made it!" She wailed. I held her in my arms as I saw the faces of those who didn't make it. About ten faces weren't on the large screen.

"Also, help me reward the trainer that won tonight's Task. That trainer is Laert Runis, who shall receive an All-Access Pass. This Pass allows him to enter any building on the island. For those that did not pass the first Task, please retrieve your belongings and head down to the port. Your boat leaves tonight. As I did with Jay, all of you can keep your pokemon." Riley said. We walked back to our rooms and wished the best of luck to the ones that were leaving. I counted and saw that four Unovians, three Hoenns, two Sinnohs, and one Johto trainer were leaving. None from Kanto failed the Task. We watched as they boarded their ship and left the island.

"Tomorrow, you start in a brand new week. Please get a good night's rest!" Riley told us. I went back into my room and crashed into my bed.

_Only 29 of us left…_

That night, I dreamed about a soft melody ringing in the moonlight, only to be distorted by a dark and mysterious shadow.

* * *

><p>*Hope you liked it! I think that it was my best update so far and hope you all review! Keep in mind that I am still accepting character forms.<p>

**I'm probably ether going to get a lot of likes or flaming about Umbra's PoV. I thought it would be an interesting twist and I hoped you guys like it. If not, then let me know because I may just change it up in the future.

***Next Chapter: Hearth, The second Task is introduced as Laert and Lily must hatch their eggs before the week is out. But what happens when tensions rise between Riley and Steven?

****Expected update for Hearth: April 1st or 8th.

*****Fun Fact #1 Pork Chops, Bacon Strip, and Barbeque are the names of my Tepig, Pignite, and Emboar.


	6. Hearth

"Everyone please report to the Storage Dome, west of ForeFear Forest, at once." Riley's voice blared through the hall. I got dressed and grabbed Umbra's ball. I tried to look for Lily, but I couldn't find her. Instead I walked next to Blake, who ignored me.

"Blake, do you know what the new Task is?" I asked. He put his hand in his pocket and shook his head.

"No, but I heard Alder will be running it this week." He said. I raised my eyebrow; if Alder was running this week, he should get the Unovians a good sponsor. We all gathered and entered the Storage Dome. There were stacks of pokeballs and capsules of some sort. We waited until Alder popped out from behind the stacks and extended his arms.

"Welcome little ones! This week, we decided change things up a bit. Instead of telling you the details of the Task at the end, we shall tell you in the beginning. This week's Task is called the Egg Task and at the end of this week, if you wish to stay, you must hatch your egg. If you fail to hatch your egg before the week is out, then you shall be put on an evaluation test like last week. Now then, let's get your eggs!" He pressed a button and the capsules hovered and flew away into the forest.

"Go get your eggs, but still note that the pokemon before are still there. You must fight them to retrieve your egg." We all rushed out, but Blake faltered. He pulled out his hand from his pocket and I saw that he had a weird glove on. It pulsed with clear light. I turned around and dashed into the woods, releasing Umbra as I ran.

* * *

><p>"<em>What we looking for boss?" I yawned. He ignored me and kept running. I grumbled.<em>

"_Where's the fire?" I joked. I gave up as he stopped to catch his breath. He scanned around and pointed to a weird cylinder in a tree. _

"Umbra, I need you to get that for me."_ He breathed. I puffed and groaned. I stretched my legs and leaped up the tree. I was about to push the capsule into Laert's arms, when a huge Ferrow Drill Peck'ed me. _

"_Ow! What was that for?" I yelled as the Ferrow squawked._

"_You're in my tree! My girlfriend is coming over in about 1 minute. I cannot have some idiot Umbreon and a weird egg in my tree! Leave!" He ordered. I hissed and told him to take a hike. I pushed the egg into Laert's arms and I jumped down._

"_Have fun with your date Bird Brain." We walked until Laert suddenly stopped. He crouched down behind a shrub and I followed suit. _

"_What are we spying on? Cause my species was built for spying." I remarked. He put a finger to his lips and looked straight ahead. All I saw was another boy with a weird glove touching an egg._

"Hey Blake! What is that?"_ Laert shouted. The boy named Blake seemed startled and thrust his hand in his pocket. _

"Nothing Laert. Why don't you mind your own business?" _He scoffed. Blake grabbed his egg and started walking away. _

"Hey! Don't walk away from me!" _Laert said furiously. He tackled Blake from behind and they started wrestling. I watched uninterestedly with Blake's pokemon, Bravo. _

"_Do they do this often?" I asked. Bravo shook his furry head._

"_Blake has talked about Laert, about him winning the Task and all, but doesn't hate him. IDK why there fighting." He admitted. I sighed. _

"_Do you think we should break it up?" I asked. Bravo shrugged._

"_If you want to." I gathered my burning coat and raced to the strangling pair. They both glanced at me and shrieked. I laughed as they jumped out of the way and hit notes a soprano couldn't. _

"Control your pokemon! I could have been scorched!" _Blake growled. I rolled my eyes._

"Where did you get that glove?"_ Laert demanded. Blake got up and looked away._

"I got it from a Pokemon League Officer. He told me not to tell anyone." _Blake said. _

"What does it do?_" Laert asked. Blake put the glove back on and touched Laert's egg. It glowed green. _

"This glove allows me to detect what type my egg will be. Yours is going to be grass if you decide to keep it. The officer told me that typing is extremely important in this program."_ Laert shook his head._

"That's wrong; it gives you an unfair advantage. You should tell Riley." _Laert insisted. Blake shook his head. _

"You turn me in, and you go down with me. Besides, I already chose my egg. I don't need this anymore."_ Laert frowned, but agreed to keep his mouth shut._

"_Wanna bet a poffin that Laert goes babbling about the glove?" I asked Bravo. He nodded._

"_Sure, but it can't be that girl he's always around with." Bravo grinned. I slapped his wing._

"_Deal."_

* * *

><p><em>Now then, step one is complete.<em>

I almost jumped in joy that my plan was going so well. No doubt Laert will tell Riley about the glove and when he does, he'll confiscate it. I sighed in content and leaned on my chair.

"You're looking awfully happy today." A voice commented. I looked up and saw the frowning face of the Train Master, Ingo.

"Hello Ingo, what can I do for you?" I asked. I was slightly creped out by his frowning, but I'm guessing I wasn't the only one.

"Nothing, I was just wondering why you were extremely happy. Usually it's only my brother who's a bundle of joy." He said. I shrugged and he saluted and left. I glared as he kept pointing forward and mumbling to himself.

_The Unovians are so weird; I can't trust them…him, Emmet, Alder, all the Unova trainers…_

My thoughts were broken when Drake raced to me and whispered, "He noticed that the glove was gone."

"Good."

* * *

><p>"I just don't get it…" I trailed off. Laert was babbling about something with Blake while I was still focused on last week. I almost cried as my Luxray licked its bruises.<p>

"Me neither. What Officer would give Blake an unfair advantage? It's totally wrong!" Laert yelled in frustration. My brain suddenly froze and flashed back to the Task.

"_Flux, use Crunch!" It dashed forward and bit the Rhydon, only to cringe as its rock skin protected it._

_"Finish it with Rock Wrecker." The boy said. The Rhydon gathered a huge rock of pulsing light and slammed it down upon my poor Luxray. It fainted and my legs gave out._

"Lily? Did you hear that?" Laert asked. I rubbed my head and said intelligently, "Wha?"

"Did you hear the announcement Riley just made? Apparently, they're starting with the sponsors and the match-up tonight rather than the end of the week. It feels so weird; I mean, how long does it take to hatch an egg? My mom hatches four eggs a week." Laert said.

"I'm going to go for a walk."

* * *

><p><em>I was worried about Lily. She wasn't happy since she battled on Sunday like she used to. I walked with her down the beach and grew tenser as she kept blaming herself. Then, she dropped down and started sobbing. <em>

"_Lily…" I purred. She stroked my mane and apologized._

"I'm sorry for being so weak. My other pokemon would kill me if they saw me like this."_ She said. _

"_You're not weak." I growled. She misinterpreted it and said, "If you want to leave me, I understand." I almost rolled my eyes. _

"Lily?"_ I turned to see a woman with a sky blue hat and light clothes. Lily almost screamed._

"Winona? What are you doing here?" _They hugged for a long time until Winona broke and glared, "_What's wrong?"

"I'm just upset. I was the last person that made it last week. I lost!" _She broke down again Winona watched. After a few minutes, Winona smacked her on the head._

"How many times have I told you that losing is only a part of growing up? How many times have you watched me lose? Lots! So grow up and make sure it doesn't happen again!" _Winona placed her hand on her forehead. _

"I'm sorry…"_ Lily whispered. That earned her another smack. _

"Don't be sorry either!" _Winona growled. They sat down and started talking; Winona about her gym and Lily about the Battle Program. Winona stroked my mane softly as I purred. _

"It's good that you got an electric-type. Maybe you can actually beat my Peliper when you get home." _I roared in agreement. _

"I love Flux, but I want him to get stronger." _Lily said. Winona shook her head. _

"Before a pokemon can get stronger, the trainer has to. Flux is wicked strong, but you're not. And that's not an insult, it's the truth." _Lily nodded while I totally thought it was an insult, but covered quite nicely. _

"Come on, it's time for me to meet the Hoenn trainers." _They walked off to the dome, while I remembered the scene with the Rhydon. If only I could get the rocks to work in my favor…_

* * *

><p>"Alder? What?" I was surprised to see Alder in the sponsor's chair for the Unovians. After the regions divided, he laughed and said, "Everyone surprised to see me?<p>

"Is an Officer even allowed to be a sponsor? Especially if their running the Task?" Blake asked.

"Of course, anyone who is involved in the Pokemon League can be a sponsor. Riley himself can be a sponsor for the Sinnoh trainers if he wanted to. Anyway let's get to business, how are your eggs?" We lifted them up and showed them. So far, the only egg that hatched was a boy from Kanto, which turned out to be a Seel.

"Alright, let's get with egg hatching. There are many ways to hasten the hatching of an egg. One could place it under the body of a Swanna for example. One could also take the silk Larvestas make and wrap the egg to keep it warm. There are many ways. Why don't we all think of them?" He gestured around the group.

"My mom told me that Audino are helpful with egg growth." A boy said. Alder chuckled.

"That's only a Nurse Joy skill. I have never heard of that." He said. The boy slumped his shoulder and kept thinking. We were all in pensiveness, until Blake interrupted, "Isn't there a pokemon that if you have, speeds the growth of an egg by a lot?"

"Why yes, there is. That chain of pokemon is the Litwick chain. If a trainer has a Litwick, Lampet, or a Chandelure in their party, their egg will grow twice as fast. Sadly, we did not include any of those pokemon in the first Task. The only person on this island with any of those pokemon is the Train Master Ingo, who has a Chandelure. But he mostly remains in the Officer's tower, which is off-limits to trainers." The bell suddenly rang and everyone got ready to see the new match-ups.

"Alder!" I yelled. He turned around and smiled.

"Hello Mr. Nimbus. How can I help you?"

"You said Mr. Ingo is in the Officer's tower, which is off-limits. What if I have an All-Access Pass?" I whispered. Alder laughed.

"You were probably wondering when you were going to use that eh? Sure, I saw him ten minutes ago in his study. Second floor, first door to the left." Alder waved good luck as I rushed over to the tall, elegant building. I scanned the pass and entered the tower. I took the elevator and was about to step off the second floor, when Steven stopped me.

"Excuse me, but do you have permission to even be here? How did you enter in the first place?" He glared and pressed the button for security.

"No! I have an Access pass!" I shouted. He ignored me and was about to restrain me, until Riley popped out of nowhere.

"Let him go, I gave him the pass. He earned it." Riley said coldly. Steven loosened his grip, but still had a hand on my shoulder.

"He shouldn't be wandering around the Officer's tower. What if he saw information for the next Tasks?" Steven said. A cold air rang between them as my blood turned to ice.

"Let him go." Steven released me and I waited as Steven gave one last smirk and left. Riley turned and started to walk away, leaving me to open the door to the Train Master's room.

"Yes?" A strained voice asked.

"Hello Mr. Ingo. I need to talk to you." I closed the door and turned on the light. A bright purple flame lit the room and I saw a tall man in a large black coat. His grey hair illuminated in the dark light.

"How can I be of service?" He coughed. I told him my predicament, about the egg, and he sighed.

"I don't like doing other people a favor when I know they won't repay me, but since you went through all this, I'll help you." He motioned for his Chandelure to come down and it rested on the table. I placed the egg around its arms and it coiled the egg.

"Now, we wait." He picked up a book, written by Shauntal, and read aloud. It was about a young boy who walks into a dark room where a little girl was sitting down on a golden throne. It stroked a tiny blob of shadows.

"Who are you?" The boy said.

"My name is Celestia Darai. Many know me as the bright darkness." The girl whispered.

"Black and White?" The boy asked.

"No, they are different people. I am Light and Shadow, who resides on the Moon of Sinnoh. I only appear on certain phases of the moon." The girl breathed.

"I don't understand. Why am I here?" The boy asked.

"Everything comes with a reason, but not everyone comes with a purpose." Ingo suddenly stopped when he saw the hearth of his Chandelure's flame grow brighter. A flash of searing, white light blinded my eyes. When I regained my sight, I saw a beautiful Snivy, sleeping.

"Congratulations." Ingo shook my hand and handed me a pokeball.

"Thank you so much. I promise I will repay you, I will." I assured as I shook his gloved hands. I placed my sleeping pokemon inside the ball and left the room, wondering what the boy's purpose was.

* * *

><p>*So yeah, review rate and all. Next chapter is the last time to submit in a character form.<p>

**Next Chapter: Virtuous, As Laert has assured himself a slot for the next week, Lily must hatch her egg. What happens as Alder decided to give everyone a little "push" as he puts them on a decision-making challenge that may destroy their pokemon?

***Expected update: 4/1/12 or 4/8/12


	7. Virtuous

Hey! So sorry I haven't been writing, just been enjoying the relaxing days of spring break.

* * *

><p>"It's so cute! Laert, I can't believe you're already done with the Task!" I exclaimed. He let a loud sigh of relief.<p>

"Maybe you should visit Mr. Ingo and his Chandelure too. You can borrow my Access Pass." Laert said. I shook my head.

"He'll probably be mad at me and you. Anyway, I need to hatch this egg my own way." I got up and walked down to a tiny plains area. I placed my egg at the middle and released Flux.

"Flux, maybe it needs some pokemon battle influence. Use Thunder!" I yelled. Flux shot a bolt of electricity at the sky and it lingered there.

"Roar!" Flux howled at the thunder and it scattered into a wave of sparks.

"Nice going! Maybe we should be coordinators…" I laughed. Flux grinned and then faced a large rock, which leaned against a mountain.

"Wanna try going against that?" I asked. It yelped.

"Use Electro Ball!" Flux spun on its belly, but instead of releasing the sphere, he rushed towards the rock with the ball still on its tail.

"Flux? What are you doing?" My words didn't reach his ears as he leaped and suddenly, the Electro Ball merged with his tail to reveal a steely color. He whipped his tail at the rock and it shattered into a million pieces.

"Flux! That was amazing! Was that Iron Tail?" I asked as I hugged him. He smiled and nibbled at my ear.

"Now we can beat Rock-types like Rhydon. I'm so proud of you." For that moment, everything went away. All my problems with my family, with the Program, everything just went away. A strange noise broke the moment as I flung my head around. For a second, I thought I saw my egg move from side to side.

"Flux! Our egg is almost hatching." I grabbed it and raced back to my hotel room. I covered it with my blankets and tried to keep it warm.

"Don't worry; you'll hatch when you're ready." I plopped down upon my bed and started snoring.

* * *

><p>"<em>So, what are we going to do for the next few days boss?" I asked Laert. He scratched behind my ears. <em>

"Well, now that we hatched our egg, we don't have to worry about getting cut. But I think we should help raise our Snivy since we may have to use it in future battles."_ Laert told me. I walked over to the sleeping Snivy and whispered, "Hey little snake, you there?" It opened its dazzling red eyes._

"_Who…" It got up, then immediately fell over. _

"_Hey take it easy; you just hatched. I would wait a few days before you do anything." I told the little baby. He yawned and fell back into his deep sleep. _

"Hey Umbra, I'm going to go tell Riley something. I'll be back." _He closed the door and left with his Pass. I leaped out the window and found Blake's room, where Bravo was picking his feathers._

"_Hey America, you owe me a poffin." He growled and flung a fat, pink, delicious cake of goodness at me and I nibbled it right in his face._

"_Victory is sweet." _

* * *

><p>"Attention all, this notice is very important. Tomorrow at 8:00 is when egg inspections will be done. If your egg has not hatched by then, you will be put on evaluation unless everyone has managed to hatch their eggs but you. To help you with this Task, a challenge has been proposed by your officer, Alder. Please meet him in Stagcimite Mountain at noon. Do not be late. Any trainer who has already hatched their egg does not need to attend. Thank you." Riley's voice crackled then faded. I groaned.<p>

_I only have 36 hours to hatch this darn egg!_

I grabbed my egg and started headed towards Stagcimite Mountain, which was near the plains. Almost everyone but five people weren't there.

"Welcome to Stagcimite Mountain." We all looked up to see Alder riding his Druddigon. He leaped off his dragon-type and waved at us.

_Guess these officers like entering with Dragons…_

"Anyway, I realized many of you haven't hatched your egg with any success. So to help you, I've decided upon a little…puzzle. It's called "Save a Pokemon." He pressed a button on his wrist and suddenly, a flock of Tranquils flew high above the mountain and started using gust. Everything went snapping from side to side from the winds.

"I am going to lock your current pokemon and your egg to a metal link. In about thirty seconds, you have the choice to undo the link and save one pokemon. The moment you unlock a link, the other one explodes; leaving the one you didn't save flying down this mountain. They will fall into a bay of stalagmites." Alder looked at our horrified faces, one by one.

"But, if we don't save our egg, won't be lose the Task?" A boy asked.

"The Task states that you can only move forward by hatching your egg, so yes." Alder replied. Everyone started whispering and muttering.

"I will call you one by one, so get ready!" He shouted across the roaring winds. I felt a chill surge through my body and I knew it wasn't from the howling winds; it was from the choice I had to make in thirty seconds.

* * *

><p>"Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. I can't believe you Steven. I knew I couldn't trust you from the start!" I grabbed his collar and pushed him up against the wall. Cynthia and Lance got up and tried to restrain me.<p>

"What's this about Riley?" Cynthia demanded.

"Steven decided it was ok to give a trainer a Detector Glove. That is cheating." I growled. Steven brushed off his pants.

"Look Riley, I made a mistake. Surely you can't punish me for that?" He said innocently. I reached forward to claw him until Emmet and Ingo arrived.

"What's this about a glove?" Emmet asked. Ingo pushed him aside and looked straight into Steven's eyes. They remained locked for a minute until Ingo broke and said, "Let's just forget about this. Steven, you should not be handing trainers valuable information and items. And Riley, as one of your officers, I must say that your behavior is not proper for the Master Director. We should just move on with the Program and make sure nothing like this happens again." I muttered an apology to Steven and he followed suit.

"I'm changing things up. I don't know what kind of information has plowed out of here, but I'm going to make sure no trainer has an advantage over anyone. Steven, you'll be taking care of the Bravado Task, not the Dynamic Task next week. I'll take Dynamic." He nodded, but I could tell he was frustrated with this change.

"I have nothing more to report, so I guess we can just observe the challenge and wait for Alder." I said. We all nodded until Emmet raised his hand.

"Mr. Riley, are the stalagmites really going to kill the egg or the pokemon?" He whimpered. I smiled.

"No Emmet, there fake. Underneath the mountain is really a river. But the trainers don't know that…"

* * *

><p>"Welcome Mrs. Valens." Alder greeted. I managed a weak smile as he chained my legs to the mountain.<p>

"These are for keeping you from being blown off." He smiled. I nodded and watched Flux and my egg being tied to metal chains.

"Ready…the timer begins….now!" The Tranquil resumed their gusts and I closed my eyes and tried to make a choice. If I saved Flux, then I failed the Task. If I saved my egg, I lose Flux and everything. The answer was like Black and White.

"Twenty seconds." Alder said. I cursed as I realized I spent too long in my thoughts. I started walking toward Flux, and then turned to my egg, then Flux, then the egg. I remained in the middle of the two, still deciding.

"Ten seconds…nine….eight…" I forced my eyes to close as my hair whipped from side to side. The winds from the Tranquil were getting rougher and more rhythmic. I looked at my Luxray, then at the egg, and wished that something would happen. Diagla or Celebi stopping time, Ho-oh saving the one that falls; the one I can't grab.

"Four…three…two…" I dashed forward and saw the locks on Flux and my egg explode.

"Flux!" I yelled. I grabbed onto my Luxray and watched as the tip of the cliff got farther away. I glanced to my side and saw my egg dropping like a pair of weights. I pushed myself to the back of my Luxray and yelled, "Quick Attack!"

It dashed forward and I grabbed my egg, only to realize I was still falling. The stalagmites looked sharper than ever. I closed my eyes once more and felt weightless as my head felt lighter.

* * *

><p>"Well, that was certainly disappointing." Alder frowned. "Out of about twenty four of you, only five managed to see the right answer, to save both." Everyone started either crying or angrily kicking the ground.<p>

"The ones that did not manage to hatch their eggs will now be put on evaluation. And will be notified tomorrow at 8:00." Alder leaped back onto his Druddigon and flew away, clearing disgruntled. I looked around and wondered where Lily went. I walked down from the mountain with the group and returned to our rooms.

"Hey Blake! Did you see Lily?" Laert asked. My eyes narrowed and said, "I don't know, why are you asking me?"

"Cause, other than me, you hang out with her the most." Laert smiled. I pounded his head.

"No I don't!" I slammed the door in his face and placed my newly-hatched Durant on my bed.

* * *

><p>"Where am I?" <em>Lily said. <em>

"_In your room. I don't know how we got from a mountain to here." I admitted. Lily blinked a few times and pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Then, she felt a soft snoring and pulled back the covers. There, sleeping on the soft bed was a small Ralts. _

"Do you think that Ralts used Teleport Flux?" _Lily asked. I nodded. Lily picked up the small psychic-type and exclaimed, "_I think I'm going to call you Kali!"

_My heart felt warmer as I saw Lily laughing and smiling. Her happiness was the greatest thing in the world. _

* * *

><p>*I admit, it wasn't one of my best chapters. I've have some writing block problems.<p>

**Next Chapter: Variance, The next Task is right around the corner as Laert and Lily get to choose what pokemon they want from the National PC. However, everything about these pokemon have been distorted. What will happen as they will need to use all their pokemon to complete the Dynamic Task?

***Expected update: 4/12, 4/15, or 4/22


	8. Variance

"_Awaken boy."_ An ominous voice said. I snapped open my eyes and a shard of glass whip past my face.

"Where am I?" I asked. I looked around for Umbra or Snivy, but only saw Darkness.

"_Hello, welcome to my world…the distortion world."_ The voice said. I gritted my teeth.

"You're Giratina aren't you?" I started running away from the voice, but my legs gave out and I crashed into the ground.

"What do you want?" I yelled. The dark figure swooped down and grabbed my chin with its claw.

"_I want your body…I need your body if I am to stop the Grey one." _It said. I tried to make out the figure, but my vision was turning blurry.

"Who are you? Just tell me that." I pleaded. It let go and I felt a burning sensation on my chin.

"_I was once a boy with a purpose, but now I am nothing but darkness and nightmares. Be wary of the Grey one._ _He is planning to destroy the island, planning to destroy everyone that resides in it. If you want to save everyone, stop him." _The figure disappeared in a cloak of shadows and left, leaving me in the cold dark.

* * *

><p>"<em>So…tell me a little about yourself." I asked the Snivy. It yawned and looked at me strangely with its large, red eyes. <em>

"_Why are your rings blue? I remember them being yellow." Snivy said. _

"_I'm a special Umbreon, the best of the best. Anyway, what do you mean by "I remember them?" I asked. Snivy brushed its leafy tail with its vines and sat down._

"_I had a strange dream. There were several Umbreon chasing me to a forest and I quickly hid behind a bush. Then…something happened. I don't remember." Snivy said. _

"_But you were just an egg; there was no way something like that could have happened to you as an egg." I pointed out. Snivy looked at me skeptically._

"_Don't you know that all eggs have the memories of their mother?" He asked. I got up and jumped upon Laert's bed. _

"_Well let me tell you about me! My name is Umbra and I'm the strongest Umbreon ever lived. My ability is Synchronize and my moves are: Pursuit, Flame Charge, Sucker Punch, Bounce and Shadow Ball. My Special Defense stat is my best stat. What about you?" I said proudly. _

"_My name is Snivy; I'm guessing I'm waiting for Laert to name me. My ability is Contrary and my moves are Vine Whip, Leer, Slam, and Twister. I don't have very good stats, but I guess my speed stat is really good." He sat back down as I thought about what he said. _

"_What's Contrary? I thought all starter pokemon had Overgrow, Torrent, or Blaze." I said. Snivy shook his head. _

"_I think I remember a bit now. My ability is from a place called the Dream-world. Maybe that's where my memory was about…" Snivy trailed off. We sat in silence for a few minutes. _

"_Oh! Anyway, Contrary is if a pokemon lowers my stats, my ability lets me reverse that, so it ups my stats. Same goes if I up my own stats, they'll go down." Snivy said. _

"_So if you use something like Work up, then your attack and special attack will go down?" I asked. He nodded. _

"_Well that sucks."_

* * *

><p>"Kali, do you want to practice?" I asked the psychic-type. Kali lifted its head and nodded its huge cap.<p>

"Alright, let's go down to the beach!" I ran out the door with Flux right behind me. When I hit the sand, I released Kali from her pokeball.

"Alright, let's see what you can do." I brought out my pokedex and it said, "Ralts, the psychic-type. Ralts can see with its brain by sending brainwaves to its attackers or trainers." The pokedex beeped.

"Cool! So you can't hear me with your ears, but with your brain. Try this, use Confusion!" I ordered. Kali focused on Flux and the attack left Flux confused.

"Nice! We are sooo going to pass this week's Task." I said. I headed back to the hotel, where I saw Blake and the other Unova trainers gather.

"Where's Laert?" I asked. Blake turned to me.

"Apparently, he was sleep-walking in the night. Riley told us that's curfew is heavily restricted, so we all get in trouble. We have to do clean-up duty this week." He groaned. The other Unovians grumbled or muttered something about killing Laert.

"Why was he sleep-walking in the first place?" I asked. Blake shrugged.

"How should I know? Guess Darkrai's flying high." He answered. The bell rang across the hotel and we all headed to the Dome. It was kind of relaxing now that we all knew the drill. Wake up, go to breakfast, go to Dome, get info, train, repeat until Match-ups, Task. I walked into the Dome and my eyes got wide. Inside, were 20 gold PCs the kind that you only find in the Pokemon League.

"Welcome everyone. This week is a little different…shocking no? First give yourselves a pat on the back for making it this far, it is the third week and that means that this week is the Dynamic Task. Here's how it goes, just like the Disadvantage Task, you will all have to fight to secure a spot. However, you must use two pokemon and you cannot use the pokemon you caught during the first week." Riley said. Everyone roared.

"What? We only have two pokemon! And my original is my strongest!" Someone shouted. Riley ignored the crowd and raised his hand. Everyone fell silent.

"I am aware of your predicament. This is why you will be able to select any pokemon you wish from one of these PCs." He gestured toward the mechanical devices.

"Any pokemon?" Blake asked. Riley nodded.

"You will find that some things are different with them though. I won't spoil all the fun, so why don't you test it yourselves?" With his signal, everyone jumped onto a PC.

_Any pokemon I want?_

* * *

><p>The screen first showed every pokemon type and asked, "Which typing do you most need?" I selected the Flying one, since Umbra was weak to fighting and bug, meaning flying would be the most logical. I flipped through the numerous bird pokemon until I saw a Gyarados.<p>

_Awesome attack and special defense stats…good power. And that Intimidate ability will come in handy. _

I pressed the button confirming my decision and I waited for a pokeball to appear out of the generator. It did and I held it in my hand.

"It looks like most of you are done. Good." Riley said. Everyone faced him, with their new pokeballs, and waited.

"Now for the little twist. The pokemon you have in your hand are not the ones you chose on the PC. In fact, they were chosen by someone else. All of the pokemon's moves, stats, and ability have been altered. I will give the rest of the week to get comfortable with your new pokemon. See you all at the match-ups." He said as he left. Everyone walked down to the food court or went back to the hotel. I looked down at the pokeball.

_I needed to start training Snivy and now I have to train this one?_

I went down to my usual spot on the beach and found Lily training.

"Lily! What pokemon did you get?" I asked. She released her new Fraxure.

"Isn't it so cute? I think I'm going to call it Hara." She told me. I kneeled down and patted the Fraxure's head.

"It's kinda weird though. My pokedex says its ability is Thick Fat rather than Rivalry or Mold Breaker….Hey what about you? Let me see your pokemon!" She said. I took a deep breath and threw my pokeball in the air. After the dust cleared, I saw a gleaming, red Scizor.

"Wow! It's looks really strong!" Lily said. I stretched out a hand and the Scizor shook it with its claw.

"Name it! Name it!" Lily shouted. I thought for a second until it hit me.

"I think I'll name you…Rozic." Scizor nodded.

"Wanna train Laert? You are sooo going down!" Lily said.

* * *

><p>"Ruined! It was almost ruined Drake! I can't believe that idiot changed me to the Bravado Task." I grimaced. Drake looked at the ceiling.<p>

"Are they ready Drake? The boats better be set too." I said. He shook his head slightly and relaxed when I leaned back on my chair.

"Guess I can't really do anything now. I'm going to have to wait till the fifth week." I said.

"Um….sir, can you please tell me why you plan to destroy the island?" Drake whimpered. I laughed as Drake cringed.

"You'll find out soon enough. Just make sure the Gaen follows me before the fifth Task." I ordered. He saluted and left.

_Everything….needs to be perfect_

* * *

><p>"Time sure does fly when you're having fun." I rubbed Kali's head as Flux and Hara were training. It was already the day of the Match-ups and tomorrow would be the Task.<p>

"We need to be perfect! I will pass this Task with flying colors guys!" I told my pokemon. After three more hours of training, I headed over to the Stadium where the match-ups were held.

"Hello! Welcome to your third match-up. You know the drill; you can use any pokemon you have, but only one. So choose wisely. The winner will not have to perform tomorrow's Task and the loser will be automatically sent home. Now then, let the match-up's begin!" Riley's Lucario leaped up and attacked the large red button with an Aura Sphere. The faces scrolled down and down until one landed on Blake's face, while the other landed on Laert's.

"What?"

"No fair, how come Blake gets to go again?"

"This thing must be rigged!"

"Excuse me! I will have order." Riley shouted across the crowd. He then used his aura powers to amplify his voice.

"Now then, I will recall the rules. Anyone who is currently present during the League Program is eligible to be selected in a match-up. As long as they are in this Program, they are allowed. Blake, Laert, please come down." Riley said. They both walked down to the stadium.

"I'm not going easy on you Laert. Watch your back." Blake said. Laert smiled, but his eyes were full of worry.

"Don't worry about me." He said.

"Begin!" Riley shouted. Laert and Blake both tossed pokeballs high in the air and released a Shuckle and a Snivy.

_Why is he using his egg pokemon? He should have used Rozic or Umbra!_

"Lang! Use Twister!" Laert ordered. His Snivy whipped up a small hurricane and launched it at the Shuckle.

"Shuckle, use Withdraw!" Blake yelled. A blue-ish light surrounded Shuckle just as the attack landed. It didn't seem to be affected by it.

"What?" Laert exclaimed. Blake grinned.

"Even though my Shuckle is low-leveled, it still has monster defense and special defense. Shuckle Power Trick!" Shuckle surrounded itself in light, only this time it was pink.

"Now use Rollout!" Shuckle slammed into Snivy and Laert's Snivy went flying.

"Lang, recover with Leer, then Vine Whip!" Laert yelled. Snivy regained its ground and glared at the Shuckle. The Shuckle cringed as Snivy performed a series of Vine Whips.

"Keep it going!" Laert said. Blake laughed.

"You think that will lower my Shuckle's defenses? You're dense. Shuckle use Featherdance!" The crowd gasped as the Shuckle used a flying-move. Dozens of feathers surrounded Snivy and it cowered. When the dust cleared, Snivy was unharmed, but had its stats lowered.

"Now Shuckle, use Metal Sound!" The Shuckle launched a series of blaring screeches that made everyone cover their ears. The only one not affected by the noise was Snivy.

"Lang! Use Slam!" Snivy leaped up and hit the Shuckle with its tail, this time doing significant damage.

"Impossible. Your Snivy's attack couldn't have been raised; you didn't use any stat moves!" Blake roared. Laert smiled.

"You forgot my Snivy's ability, Contrary. It lets Snivy reverse the effect of a stat move. Lang, Slam him once more!" Snivy spun and a spark of green light exploded from its tail.

"Is that…"

"Yup…no way."

"At that level?"

"It's Leaf Blade!"

"Go use Leaf Blade Lang!" Laert yelled. The impact left a smoke of debris and dust in our eyes. When it cleared, Shuckle had fainted.

"Amazing battle you two. Splendid. The winner is Laert Runis! I'm sorry to tell you Blake, that you have been automatically eliminated. I will meet you by the docks." Everyone left and I ran up to Laert.

"Great job! Amazing!" I hugged him. He brought my head up and kissed me.

"Well, I wanted to get a proper farewell, but I guess you two are busy." Blake said behind us. We broke apart and I felt my face turn red.

"You did great Blake…" Laert said. Blake shook his head.

"I could've done better. But I'm glad I lost to you, out of all people. You two were my only friends here. I hope I can see you after this is all over." Blake said. We hugged him and walked with him down to the docks.

"What will you do now?" Laert asked.

"I think I'm going to visit Unova." He confirmed. After Riley handed Blake's pokeballs back, he wished him farewell.

"Have a safe trip."

* * *

><p>*Ughhh, I apologize so much for writing such a crappy chapter. I've been having so much writer block troubles with this week. Also, I apologize for not updating much.<p>

**Anthony Christian's character, Blake, has just finished his third chapter. He will appear in one more chapter. I recommend that you check out his amazing Fanfic "Grey Adventures." It's really good.

***Next chapter: Timeless, Lily faces off in her two-on-two battle with an unexpected guest, which has pokemon she never expected to face. Can she win and move on with her fourth Task?

****Expected update for Timeless: May 6th or May 20th


	9. Timless, Prospect, Dauntless, Legacy

Hey everyone! So I have finally decided to end this story because I don't feel like I will ever return to it again. After reading it again and again, I just don't know how I am going to finish it. I had everything planned out though:

Timeless:

1) Lily would face against Winnona against her old team consisting of Breloom, Claydol, and Spinda

2) She would win the Task prize and her reward was to bring back two fallen members to participate in the next Task. (Currently, there are only 6 trainers left)

3) The fourth Task, Tag Team, would be hosted by Ingo and Emmet and each trainer was to receive a "foil" pokemon. Examples would be like Throh and Sawk, Plusle and Minum, Whimscott and Liligant, Carracosta and Archeops. Laert would team up with famous sponsor Manny Sloan while Lily would bring back Blake and Jay, teaming up with Jay. Laert would receive a Salamance, Manny has a Flygon, and Lily would receive a Cradily, while Jay got an Armaldo. The Task goes on until the last two teams, Laert's and Lily's face off to see who goes to face Ingo and Emmet.

Prospect:

1) Jay's Cradily takes out Flygon, at the exact moment Flygon takes out Cradily. Lily and Laert are both left to fight, with them ending up with a tie. Ingo and Emmet acknowledge their strength and make them fight together against the train masters. Ingo uses Chandelure, Emmet uses Durant, and Laert uses Umbra, while Lily uses Flux. They fight valiantly until Umbra learns a new move, Aqua Jet, and takes out Chandelure. Flux takes out Durant with a swift Iron Tail and Lily and Laert both advance to the next Task. The end of the day shows that Drew and Jay made it with Lily and Laert. Manny wishes Laert good luck and hands him a Lucario Bone Ring. He tells him that Lucario store energy within their bones and that the ring will help him.

2) The next day, the final Task is announced, the Bravado Task, hosted by our mysterious Steven. He then surprises everyone by saying that the Task will be put on hold until they can fix the final battle round, while is located in four different locations. Lily and Laert take this time to walk down the beach and reflect upon what they had accomplished and wish the best of luck each other.

3) After two days, Lily, Laert, Drew and Jay receive their final pokemon, which are legendaries. Lily receives a Heatran, Laert receives a Mespirt, Drew receives a Raikou, and Jay receives a Cresselia. They walk towards their designated areas; only Lily's and Laert's are known. Lily's battlefield is a steaming volcano, slightly active, while Laert's is an underground crystal tunnel. He goes there finding Steven and battles him with his Mespirt. He finds out that the legendaries have been suppressed and they are merely level 1s. Steven's Metagross was going to bring the finishing blow, while Riley enters and fights Steven. He tells Laert to quickly save the island. Laert runs outside and sees the clouds grey and the island raining ash. He races over to the Officer's tower and tries to help everyone escape. Lily gets a phone call from Laert and helps everyone board the ships and waits for Laert.

Dauntless:

1) Riley continues to fight Steven when he steps into a portal that brings him back to the tower. Riley runs out of the came and races to the volcano where Lily's battlefield was. He tries to subdue the lava with his aura powers, but he is unsuccessful. He sends out his Mantine and make it use Hydro Pump to calm the lava.

2) Laert finds Lance, Cynthia, and Alder locked in a room and quickly guides them to the docks. However, Alder informs Laert that Ingo and Emmet are still in the tower. He races back to the tower and goes to the top floor. He finds the brothers tied and gagged behind Steven. He battles with his Umbra and almost loses to Steven, when Lily appears and makes Kali use Heal Pulse. Umbra finishes Metagross with a powerful Flame Charge and frees the brothers. Steven laughs and explains why he created this plan, to destroy the island and Riley and emerge as the hero who saved the citizens and who deserves to be the Pokemon League Master Director. Laert destroys the room and finds a bunch of strange runic stones. He later finds out that his region, Gaen, has been supporting Steven with these ancient radiated runes, and that they can cause an enormous explosion. The runes can only be activated with the hands of a Gaen. Laert accidentally touches them and an earthquake appears. He rushes Lily and the Train Masters down the stairs while he jumps off the tower right before it explodes. He summons his Scizor to help him land on the ships and watch as the island explodes. He and Lily weep for Riley and sail back to Castelia City.

Legacy:

1)Lily and Laert gradually start exploring Unova until they receive a letter from Alder to come to the Nimbasa Train Station. They arrive and a party is thrown to thank the saviors of the Pokemon League Battle Program. Steven was known to be missing, but not dead. It is still unknown is Riley is dead. They enjoy the party and Lily gets offered by Winnona if she wanted to work part-time in the gym, training to become a full gym leader in Hoenn. Lily accepts and leaves with her sister, kissing Laert one last time. He sighs and cries in frustration about what to do with his life. He finds Riley at a bar and has a non-alcoholic drink with him and asks him how he survived. He points to Laert's Bone Ring and tells him that he stored enough energy to protect him from the blast. He then swam to shore and rested in Undella Town.

"What should I do now? Lily got offered a job; I got nothing. I thought the Battle Program would help me with my future." Laert said as Umbra yawned.

"That is not for me to decide. But something tells me things are going to look brighter." Riley winked. "Also, please do not tell anyone about my existence; I am going to take a long vacation. So long, I may be actually dead!"

2) Laert is then confronted by Ingo and Emmet and asked him if he could be their first Gaen Master explorer. With their subway cars, Laert would travel the regions in search of fresh talent and train them to become the next gym leaders and elite four. HE accepts gracefully and tells them to call him whenever they need something.

"We owe our lives to you. My brother and I are eternally grateful." Ingo said with a rare smile.

3) Laert rides on the back of his Salamance and flies to Hoenn, to visit Lily, only to find a small, sculpture of a Metagross.

* * *

><p>Well that is the end of the Legend of Lore. I wish I could write all this, but I can't. If anyone wants to finish it, be my guest and please let me read it! I would love to read your interpretation of this story. I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope I haven't failed you as a writer.<p> 


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